Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez took a 2-2 fastball from San Francisco Giants reliever and parked it deep into the Kauffman Stadium night. The two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh cut the Giants lead to 3-2. But the score wasn’t the story.
That blast was the 317th home run of his career. That ties George Brett for the most in Royals franchise history. A record that had stood since Brett retired after the 1993 season. Forty years. And now Perez is standing right next to him.
The Royals are having a rough year. They’re miles out of contention and the rebuild is still grinding along. But Perez keeps showing up. The 15-year veteran has been the heart of the lineup for over a decade. He’s caught more games than anyone in club history. He’s won a World Series MVP. And now he’s about to own the franchise home run record all by himself.
One more dinger and it’s his outright. No tie. No asterisk. Just Salvador Perez alone at the top of the list.
The shot heard around Kauffman
Perez worked a 2-2 count before Giants reliever hung a fastball middle-in. Perez didn’t miss. The ball carried 421 feet to deep right-center field and landed in the Royals bullpen. It wasn’t a cheap one. It was the kind of moon shot people remember.
The crowd gave him a curtain call. His teammates mobbed him in the dugout. And social media did its thing. Talkin’ Baseball posted the video with the obvious headline: Salvador Perez tied George Brett for the most home runs in Royals franchise history with homer number 317. (The account’s all caps, not mine.)
Brett himself has been supportive. He told reporters earlier this season that records are meant to be broken and that he’d be happy to hand the crown to Perez. Classy move from a Hall of Famer. But Perez probably wants to do it on a winning team. The Royals are 44-54. They lost this game 5-2. The Giants added a couple insurance runs after Perez left the yard.
Still, this is a big deal in Kansas City. The Royals don’t have a deep history. They’ve only existed since 1969. But Brett is the face of the franchise. He hit .390 in 1980. He has a statue outside the stadium. And now Perez is about to pass him on the most traditional counting stat in baseball.
Perez has 18 homers this season. He’s 34 years old and playing first base more often now to save his legs. He’s under contract through 2025 with a club option for 2026. He could push this record out of reach for a long time.
Next up: No. 318. It could come this weekend against the Diamondbacks. Or it could come the next day. But it’s coming. And when it does, Salvador Perez will stand alone.
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